SPEECHES

Ambassador John Campbell’s
Remarks
To the 20th Sultan of Sokoto,
Muhammadu Saadu Abubakar

Date: February 4, 2007 4 p.m.
Venue: Sokoto

Your Eminence, Peace be unto You.

On behalf of my colleagues from the American Embassy in Abuja, thank you most sincerely for granting us an audience this afternoon.

I am delighted to return to Sokoto and to meet with you and your community.

Americans know that Sokoto is an important cultural and religious center in northern Nigeria.

And, throughout West Africa, the triumphs and splendor of the Sokoto Caliphate, established by the 19th century Islamic reformer and scholar, Shehu Usman Dan Fodio, are well known and celebrated. 

I would like to begin by expressing my condolences to your family and the people of Sokoto on the passing of His Eminence, the late Sultan of Sokoto, Sultan Muhammadu Maccido. 

I visited Sokoto following his passing in late October of last year to convey the condolences of the American people.

I am honored and privileged to meet with you, his successor, today and congratulate you on your appointment as Sultan of Sokoto.

The office you hold is revered, and instrumental in bringing people together in the cause of peace.

Your successful launching as Amir ul-hajj of the Hajj activities is, I believe, only the first of many of your achievements to come.    

While here in your palace, I want to tell the entire Muslim community in Nigeria through you: America treasures your friendship and honors your faith.  Islam is a religion that inspires hope and grants solace to more than a billion Muslims around the world, including millions of American Muslims.

Other purposes of my visit to Sokoto is to commission an American Corner library at Usman DanFodio University Central Campus, to commission an United States Agency for International Development-supported health facility - a new Obstetric Fistula Clinic - located at the Maryam Abacha Women and Children’s Hospital, and to donate a set of children’s books to Governor Bafarawa’s model school – the Attahiru Bafarawa Institute for Quranic and General Studies. 

These programs represent a strong and growing partnership between the people of Sokoto and the American people.

I also want to mention that the American Embassy is working closely with the Arewa House and Cultural Center in Kaduna to organize a Symposium on Nigeria's Islamic Manuscript Heritage, which is to be held in Kaduna on March 7 – 8, 2007.

We hope that the conference will raise awareness of the great significance of collecting, systematically organizing, and preserving Nigeria's valuable Islamic literary heritage. 

The American people look forward to continuing to build upon our partnership with the people of Sokoto State.

Thank you.